Explicit Tutorial Levels Unnecessarily Delay The Fun.
The heinous crime committed by nearly every tutorial level ever is delaying the fun. They are almost universally skipped after just a single serving for precisely that reason. Rare is the tutorial that a player comes back to after beating a game. This is particularly egregious when there are so many more intelligent options. The player is constantly learning about the game world, sometimes learning new things throughout the entire game-play experience. Since games are already such great teachers, what is the point of dedicating valuable time (both developer time and player time) to making sure the player understands certain mechanics? Obviously designers are responsible for making sure the player learns game mechanics somehow. One obvious way to teach mechanics to players is to allow them to fail. Alternatively players can learn mechanics from feedback in terms of level design or a rumbling controller or even from the user interface. An example: A few months ago, I picked up an iOS Ipad game called Battlefleet Gothic: Leviathan. This game was an adaptation of a tabletop game to mobile. I actually bought it to keep me entertained on a lengthy plane ride, but was disappointed to find that before I could play what seemed like a compelling campaign, I had to first complete a step by step tutorial which not only introduced game-play mechanics, but also every piece of the UI. Not only was it incredibly boring, but I found that I didn't actually remember fairly basic things because I had only really clicked on any given button as a result of some prompt dialogue box. Dragon's Lair HD edition Dragon's Lair got a slideshow for the player when he starts the game for the first time, showing you step by step how to win the first animation sequence. The game will pause at the moments where player input is required. The reason this tutorial is bad is the way the slideshow is made. Giving the instructions of the game in a lot of text can make the player skip all the text and learn nothing. Example #2: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing This mobile game forces the player to go through this 20 or so minute step-by-step tutorial that shows the player how the game works. The player is forced to make the exact actions that they tell you to and force you to do it for multiple missions. Not only was this extremely irritating, but since it was also spoon fed to the player, it does more showing than actual teaching. Example #3: Cooking Adventure This Facebook game has a tutorial that restricts the player to specific actions, which causes frustration because of the simplicity and intuitive nature of the game. There is not an option to skip the tutorial so the player is forced to click through the tutorial that lasts for 10 minutes. Not only can the player not skip the tutorial, but the instructions are very repetitive because there are so few mechanics. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - First Assault Online In addition to its ridiculously long name, this game also has a ridiculously long tutorial. Keep in mind that this is a standard COD style FPS game. Why do you need a tutorial for an FPS these days? The tutorial in this game is so basic and unnecessary, it insults the player's intelligence. The tutorial starts by showing you how to walk! HOW TO WALK! Now, this would have been understandable if the controls were something completely different from the standard AWSD+mouse controls. Then we move on to shooting which again something that does not need its own tutorial segment. If it was really necessary the development team could have done a better job incorporating the tutorial into the first online game a player joins, through subtle hints that pop up. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare has a long tutorial for teaching players the use of the WASD movement keys. The tutorial teaches the player about basic inputs and mechanics like left click is used for primary fire and R is used for reloading, etc. These tutorials are redundant which delays the real gameplay for the user. Tutorials, if at all required, for FPS games should be addressing the added controls or mechanics rather than teaching the basic controls.